You Will Have to Fight Through Bad Days

I remember the day I received the email from Nike Women asking me to be a Nike Women’s Marathon Ambassador, at first I thought it was a joke. I didn't want to get my hopes up and when I realized that it was for real I jumped up and down in my desk and ran around my office in pure joy. 

It rates HIGHLY as one of the happiest days of my life.

As the marathon approaches I look back and realize that not every day of training was glamour’s. There were days that I honestly wanted to give up. There were days that I sat on my bed and cried. Not because my body was tired or because I was injured but because I was physically exhausted. Running long distances is a mentally draining activity. Or a Saturday morning would come and my alarm was going off at 6am and I knew that most people I knew were still in bed sleeping in on a beautiful Saturday morning.

I also had days that I felt amazing and I was so excited to get out there and train, sometimes I would get up at 6am and feel proud because I knew I was one of the few people in the world awake at this time on a weekend and not because I had to be but because I wanted to be. I had days were I woke up and got so excited to train and was super pumped about San Fran. Lucky for me the days that I was excited to train far outweighed the days that I was tired.

Nike Women were also really great supporters. It seemed they sent me a box full of Nike gear when I needed it the most, such as when I needed a pick me up for training. I don’t think I would have been able to do my first marathon training without the support of the Ladies at Nike Women. They have been inspirational and motivating.

One HUGE words of advice I can give anyone who is running a marathon is “You will have to fight through the bad days to earn the best days of your life”. For me these best days have been training for the Nike Women’s Marathon. They haven’t always been easy, but nothing easy is ever worth it, it is only really worth it if you had to work for it. Trust me running 22 miles is not an easy feat but it has been so worth it.

I am beyond excited to cross the finish line with a smile on my face. Qualifying for Boston would be beyond exciting and coming across the line at 3hours 30minutes would probably put me into excited frenzy of tears but truth be told to cross that line with a big smile on my face is going to mean the most.

I have been so honoured to share this journey with you. I am more than over joyed that you have read my blog and shared your experiences with me. Remember the journey doesn’t end until I cross that finish line, so please continue to follow me on twitter @TiaraBeth, ask me questions and give me encouragement because you have all shared this journey with me. I hope you will all be cheering me on while I run my very first marathon. 

Accomplishments with #NTC

I had a HUGE accomplishment this week. I made it to the 10,000 minute of Nike Training Club. 

This was a goal of mine to hit it before the end of the summer but then I got named a Nike Women’s Ambassador and running was the most important part of my life at that point.

This week, on Wednesday to be exact it finally happened; I made it to the 10,000 minute mark. This is a huge achievement for the people that use the app because it is 10,000 minutes dedicated to Nike Training Club.

The transformation that has happened with my body has been amazing. Back in January when I was at the 3,000 minute mark my body was ok, but now I am starting to have a body that I am proud of. 

I am proud of it because I did it all by myself. I worked hard to get here with a lot of sweat and waking up early.

Sometimes we have to give up something we like for something we love. 

I had to sacrifice sleeping in here and there to get to this point but I did it and am I happy I did.

I have seen a massive transformation in my torso, but not only that in my upper and lower body strength. Also, how I view myself and how I feel. I think that is the most important aspect of how NTC has changed my life. 

I am super excited to see the changes my body will go through as I aim to hit 20,000 NTC minutes.

Wow, things got real this week

The fact that I am running the Nike Women’s Marathon became very real to me this week. 

On Tuesday I opened my inbox and what was there an email from a company called Epiphany, they are a social media company that works closely with Nike Women.

They asked me questions about who I am, what I do, my training, and my excitements. It was really cool to sit down and answer these questions because it really made me take a look at my training and see how far I have come.

The same day I received an email about my registration for the Nike Women’s marathon. At that point I was like this is really happening. I am really going to be flying to San Fran to run this and dominate it.

I am so excited for this opportunity. Sometimes it doesn't seem real and other times it’s all I have to stop from jumping up and down in exciting. I know all of my training is going to pay off. I have worked so hard and can’t wait to really show what I am made of. 

I can’t wait to run my very first marathon.

Marathon is coming soon

Last week was an amazing week for training.

Monday was a make-up day for not getting in my long run the week before and so I did a 4 mile run at lunch and killed it. I managed to run it in 29:53 with a pace of 7’26”/mile I was super happy with that pace. After work I headed to the reservoir and did a 9.21miles run I finished this in 1:28:27 with a pace of 9’36”/mile, not the greatest pace on the second run but I was still really happy with the way the run went.

Tuesday I did Nike Training Club True Condition and as you know I did hill runs with Renee and we killed it. I did a track workout with her this week also and it was so fun. I am glad I have a new running friend.

Thursday I did a 3.57mile run at lunch. It wasn’t my best time. I did the run in 30 minutes with a pace of 8’24”/mile. It was a warm lunch. It is great that it is September and we are still getting really warm weather, it makes me happy.

Friday I tackled more Nike Training Club doing the Gladiator in the Get Strong section and Leah Kim Yoga. Yoga is so important for a runner. It keeps your muscles long and prevents injury. Anyone who isn’t doing yoga with their training needs to add it in, your muscles with thank you.

Saturday was a 13 mile run day. I was ecstatic to run a half marathon distance. Everything has been crazy distances up to this point and to come back to the half marathon distance was a great treat. My goal for this distance was to do it without stopping once and took one stop to fill up my camel back. I was so pleased with my run and was happy I was able to complete the distance and with a pace of 8’58”/mile and a time of 1:57:51. Nothing felt better than to push through the limits and conquer my goal. This has given me lots of confidence for my actual marathon that is just around the corner. Now I know I can rock it!! Not only did I rock my half marathon run I also did my fastest marathon, this was a huge achievement for me. Hopefully I only continue to make it faster.

Last week was a great training week. I can feel the race getting closer and I am getting so excited. Happy Training. 

Hill Sprints with Renee

On Tuesday I had an opportunity to meet one of my twitter friends. Her name is Renee and she lives here in Calgary. It was cool to meet someone from twitter because too many times you say you’ll meet up but it never really happens.

Renee and I met at the Sandy Beach hill and had an evening of hills sprints. As you all know I am preparing for the Nike Women’s Marathon, Renee is preparing for the Bluenose half marathon.

I believe that hill training is important to anyone’s training plan. If you are missing out on the hill training you are only hurting yourself in the end.

I told Renee we were going to do 6-8 hill sprints. Well Renee I looked at the actual laps we did and we ended up doing 12 hill sprints!! No wonder my legs felt so sore the next day.

The laps went like this:

1.       3:02

2.       2:59

3.       3:01

4.       4:59

5.       3:20

6.       3:26

7.       3:29

8.       3:27

9.       3:26

10.   3:52

11.   3:38

12.   3:35

I kind of fell off the map on lap 4 but pulled it back together for the rest of the hill sprints.

The key to having successful hill sprints is in my arms. I find the more I use my arms the faster I can go up the hill. Of course while running a race you don’t want to run the hills too fast or you won’t have much energy left over for the rest of the race but if you can move those arms a little it will help propel you up those hills.

Hills have actually become a favorite part of my training plan and I hope to be able to dominate them in San Fran.

What is the favorite part of your training plan?

Renee and I are getting together again on Tuesday to do a track workout. I am excited to run the track and get my speed up.

Happy Training.

You Are Going to Want to Give Up ... Don't

When I first started my marathon training I didn’t think it was going to be this hard. I mean I knew it was going to be hard but I thought the hard part was behind me. You know the increase in mileage seemed really hard but truth be known the taper is my hardest part.

I have reached my maximum mileage of 22 miles and now it seems hard to get out there for my long runs. I try to justify it by saying you’ve already ran 22 miles so this 18 isn’t worth running. When in reality the taper is just as important in the training process.

I have to keep reminding myself that I am going to want to give up, but not to. Though 13 miles seems easy and not worth doing every run on the taper is just as important and just as needed as the runs leading up to your longest mile.

Week 11 of training didn’t go as planned.

Monday I did a little bit of catch up on the last week and did some Nike Training Club, Get Strong Gladiator to be exact. The Gladiator always scares me because of the amount of shoulder strength needed to do this workout. It is lots of sumo squats and planks and medicine ball push-ups. Once I am done it I always feel accomplished so that is a plus.

Tuesday I conquered a 4 mile run on my lunch break. I was so impressed with my pace, I pulled out a 7’31”/mile pace. All in all I killed it and it felt good. I love that I am running fast and strong on these short runs, I just wish that would transition into my longer runs. Wednesday I did another 4 mile run and this time did it with a pace of 7’48”/mile. I am always happy with a run if I keep it under an 8’00”/mile pace. 

Thursday morning Jamie and I met for some hills. We did the 5 this morning. They were hard I kept feeling like I was going to get sick, but I beat a cyclist up the hill at one point and that made me proud. I always get happy when I can beat a person on bike lol. Thursday at lunch I also did some ab workouts. The Jeanette Jenkins and Joselynne Boschen, they are my two favorite ab workouts on the app.

The weekend was supposed to be a 16 mile run but due to my company participating in Calgary Corporate Challenge I was unable to run Saturday morning. I was signed up to participate in basketball. One thing you should know about me. I am not a team sport person. I played basketball on a team once and I accidently broke a girls arm. My parents put me in single sports after that. I show up to the basketball game in my Nike capri’s, it was cold that day and I didn’t want to feel chilly. We were down by 10 going into the last 2 minutes of the game and our team came back to win the game by 2 points, however due to having too many people playing we had to forfeit the game. So sadly we lost. Sunday morning I woke up and was feeling super sick and wasn’t able to run. I was so disappointed in myself for missing my run.

I hope your week of training is going well so far. Only 25 days left until the Nike Women’s Marathon.

Happy Training. 

My Totem

I wrote NWM on my wrist, this stands for Nike Women’s Marathon. By now you proably know from reading my blog that I am running the  Nike Women’s Marathon and it is in 27 days. Ahh!!!

To help me gain more control over my eating habits (not to not eat, but to eat more) I have wrote NWM on my wrist. This is to remind me when I reach for a donut, a diet coke, a sugary snack, or when I am thinking I have ate enough for the day but I know that my calories are on the low side to eat a little more of my goals; my goal to qualify for Boston, my goal to get my body into better shape, my goal to have abs.

I have had a few questions today of what is that on your wrist and I am tell them. I get a few weird looks and I also get a few that is a great idea. I am not doing this for other people I am doing this for me so I can have the best race I can race. 

Happy Training.